A Second Chance on Love
by Kristen3
Summary: AU ending of "Mixed Doubles." Niles goes to the bar to tell her about Rodney, but, to his surprise, he finds her talking to yet another man. One-shot.


Niles could feel his heart pounding as he walked toward the bar. In the car, on the way here, he'd practiced what he'd say. He only hoped he could still remember the words. They'd gone out of his head, it seemed. Oh, well, he'd just have to speak from the heart.

But just as he was about to approach Daphne, he stopped in his tracks. A man sat next to her, and apparently, they were talking. "No, thank you," Daphne said. "I'm meeting someone."

"Well, that's what we're all here for, right? To meet someone?" the man asked, winking at her.

"That wasn't what I meant-" Daphne said.

Niles knew he had to rescue her. It was obvious this man wasn't worthy of her. "Daphne?"

"Oh, hello, Dr. Crane." Daphne smiled at him, but Niles could tell it wasn't her usual smile. His heart sank as he realized she must've been expecting Rodney.

"Is everything all right?" Niles asked, eyeing the man.

"Yes. Let's go sit over here," Daphne said, getting up and walking toward one of the tables.

Niles nodded and followed her. When he sat down, he realized he had no choice but to break the news to her. "I just saw Rodney at Nervosa. He and Adelle were..." To his surprise, Daphne reached across the table, squeezing his hand.

"I already know. Rodney called me a few minutes ago. It was so nice of you to come down here."

"It was nothing. I'm just so sorry this happened. I feel like it's all my fault, since I was the one who brought Adelle over to Frasier's."

"Don't blame yourself. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine. I must've been out of me mind, thinking a man like that would ever seriously be interested in me."

Niles' heart broke as she looked down at the floor. "It's Rodney's loss. Believe me. Why, remember when Rodney first called you? I was going to ask you out, until he stepped in."

"I appreciate your trying to cheer me up, but it's not necessary," Daphne said, still not really looking up.

Feeling a bit bold, Niles reached for her hand. To his relief, this finally made her look up. "Daphne, I _was_ going to ask you out. You can ask Frasier if you don't believe me."

Daphne didn't know what to make of this. It seemed crazy, but if Dr. Crane was telling her to ask his brother, she knew he must be serious. "You really do care about me, don't you?"

Niles nodded. "More than I could possibly say."

"I wish you had asked me out. Then I wouldn't be feeling this way." She knew Rodney wasn't really worth a broken heart, but she couldn't help it. Just like always, she'd let herself believe they had a future.

"I see this sort of thing in my patients all the time. They always want a quick fix, some way to get over this pain. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. The only cure is time."

Daphne sighed. "I know all about that. I've been through this a few times meself. Sometimes I wonder why I ever get me hopes up in the first place. It always ends up like this."

"It doesn't have to," Niles said, wishing he knew how to turn the clock back so that she could avoid all of this trouble in the first place. "I know this is a lot to ask when you've just been rejected. But maybe Rodney was just the wrong choice. Perhaps next time you should pick someone you can trust."

It did make sense, Daphne thought as she looked into his eyes. This bar was crawling with men, most of whom were only looking for a good time. No one came into a bar like this looking for actual love. That wasn't something one could find over drinks. It took time to let a relationship grow. But Daphne didn't have anyone like that in her life, which was why she'd allowed Roz to talk her into coming here the other night.

"There's something I've been wanting to say to you since the moment we met," Niles said, feeling his heart race once again. This was what he'd come here to say, and yet he wasn't sure if he could go through with it. He could see in Daphne's eyes that what had happened with Rodney left her feeling vulnerable. If he said this wrong, he might end up causing her more pain.

Suddenly, Daphne realized she'd been wrong. She had assumed there was no man in her life, at least not any she could ever see herself with romantically. But Dr. Crane was a friend, someone she certainly knew she could trust. He wouldn't be here now unless he cared about her heart. "I think I know what you're going to say," she finally said when it was clear he wasn't able to find the words to continue. "I admit I'm a bit scared. Luck hasn't exactly been on my side lately. But I think you might be right, I need to be with someone I can trust."

Niles felt an incredible sense of relief when he realized she understood what he was trying to say. "I hope you know that I would never hurt you the way Rodney did. If you're willing to take a chance again, then so am I. I love you." He was almost surprised to hear himself finally say those three words. But he saw that he needn't have worried. Now Daphne was smiling, and he could tell it came straight from her heart.

"I was almost beginning to think I'd never hear those words from a man again. But this is a wonderful surprise. What's even more surprising is that I love you, too. I think I've learned me lesson. It's fine for Roz to date any man she comes across, but that just isn't me. I'd much rather give me heart to someone. And I think the person it belongs to is you."

There was a warmth inside Niles that he knew had nothing to do with the bar's temperature. Timidly, he leaned forward, and to his surprise, Daphne's lips met his. The kiss surpassed his imagination a hundred times over. As he drew back and looked into Daphne's eyes once more, he realized that this night could've been painful for both of them. Love always carried with it the risk of heartbreak. But, once in a while, the risk turns out to be more than worth it.

**The End**


End file.
